Chapter 171

"Boom—"

A ball of flame rose in Sima Di's palm, yet it did not harm him in the slightest.

Sima Di shifted his will,

and this ball of flame quickly spread over his entire body. It seemed as though he was being engulfed by fire, but in reality, it was merely adding a layer of flame protection.

Nearby, Robin and Vivi, in tacit understanding, moved away from Sima Di without asking further questions.

Sima Di often had sudden whims to "develop abilities," so strange things frequently happened; it was nothing surprising.

Feeling the flames around him, Sima Di suddenly understood.

Is this the "Lunarian" bloodline?

That means...

Sanji's Demonic Wind Leg must be the initial application of this power, right?

That explains it.

After all...

The Demonic Wind Leg had long since exceeded the scope of "friction generating heat," let alone the fact that in the future, Sanji could use the Demonic Wind Leg directly without spinning or friction.

And just now, Sanji, in a rage, was also covered in flames like Sima Di is now.

It seems the Vinsmoke family left Sanji with more than just a mess.

"Interesting."

He looked into the arena,

where Sanji had resolved the "core of the conflict"—Diable Jambe's face.

This caused Diable Jambe to completely reverse his attitude toward Sanji, personally opening the cage that held Hatchan.

"Young Master, dispose of him as you please!"

But Sanji did not speak, nor did Hatchan step out of the cage.

Everyone fell silent, waiting for Nami to make a decision.

Should they kill Hatchan?

Or...

Sima Di looked at Nami, whose face was twisted in conflict, and couldn't help but recall Hatchan's fish life.

He was honest and kind to people; he was the only fishman who had not committed violence against Cocoyasi Village. When he heard Zoro was looking for Arlong, he mistook him for a guest and didn't mind at all that a human was sitting on his head to give him a ride.

His greatest mistake was simply following the wrong boss.

But!

As a member of the Arlong Pirates who oppressed Cocoyasi Village, it was impossible to say that Hatchan had never harmed any villager.

It all depended on how Nami would deal with it.

"Forget it, let him go on his own," Nami said.

"Yes~"

Sanji turned to board the ship, not even looking at Hatchan.

However...

"You are going to Fish-Man Island, right?" Hatchan asked weakly. "Do you know the preparations for going to Fish-Man Island? Do you have a suitable coating craftsman? Do you know the route to Fish-Man Island?"

These three soul-searching questions made Sanji stop in his tracks.

The reason they had come to this Horse Island was precisely because they didn't know the route, so they were just wandering around aimlessly...

"What do you want to say?" Sanji asked, frowning.

"I can take you to Fish-Man Island." Hatchan summoned his courage and looked at Nami, saying, "I don't ask for your forgiveness; I just want to do something for you..."

Come to think of it,

if Hatchan, a native of Fish-Man Island, served as a guide, that would be quite good.

It's just...

Could Nami accept it?

The Straw Hat Pirates held their breath, waiting for Nami to make a decision.

"No problem, then let him board the ship," Nami said calmly.

Her choice to repay kindness with kindness was vastly different from Sanji's original intention.

Nami was not forgiving the Arlong Pirates for the harm done to Cocoyasi Village, nor was she forgiving Hatchan for aiding and abetting evil.

She was simply reconciling with her past self, no longer obsessing over the pain she had once suffered.

【Ding! Congratulations on signing in at the famous scene "Nami Reconciling with the Past!", receive the sign-in reward "Nami's Navigator Talent"!】

—————

"Nami's Navigator Talent": As a born navigator, Nami's talent is unquestionable; she is a being who can sense sudden weather changes approaching just by feeling the air with her skin, making her the optimal choice for sailing!;

—————

Everyone smiled sincerely.

"Yosh! Hatchan, you'd better work hard, or I'll turn you into takoyaki!" Luffy joked.

"Idiot! Fishmen are people too, you can't eat them!" Sanji scolded.

"But... didn't Sanji just want to make human buns too? How did they taste?" Luffy retorted.

"Bai Chi! That was just angry talk! How could I have ever eaten that thing!" Sanji snapped in anger.

Amidst the commotion,

Hatchan also lowered his head, jumped into the sea, climbed onto the deck from the net lowered by the Merry, and stood stiffly by the ship's railing.

"Please steer toward the sun; my takoyaki ship is there. It has a map of the Sabaody Archipelago, and I know a reliable coating craftsman there."

"Octopus-grilled ship?" Luffy's eyes lit up with octopus-grilled balls: "Is your octopus-grilled balls tasty? Can I have some?"

"The flavor is guaranteed to be great! Eat as much as you want, no problem!" Hatchan said without hesitation.

Right now, no matter what he could do for the Straw Hat Pirates, he would do it without hesitation.

Just to atone for his sins.

At this moment,

Dibaru on the shore waved and called out: "Young Master! My Den Den Mushi number is 438, 438, 5438. From now on, for any need you may have, the Flying Fish Riders will serve you wholeheartedly!"

Dibaru also stiffly threw a flirtatious glance.

Aided by his "influencer face," within the handsomeness there lurked a three-part eeriness......

Usopp could not help but complain: "Why does he look even less pleasing to the eye than his previous appearance......"

"Huh?" Dibaru leaned his head forward and said: "Are you complimenting my handsomeness? Thanks for that, long-nosed young man!"

Usopp: "......"

Where did this sudden narcissism come from?

"Merry, let's go, or I won't be able to stop myself from kicking this idiot to death!"

Sanji didn't even look back, utterly unwilling to pay attention to this dimwit youth.

Merry steered the Going Merry to turn around and sail toward the direction Hatchan had mentioned.

"Wait a moment, I'm testing something."

The Going Merry braked hard, and everyone looked at Sima Di in confusion.

Sima Di, however, was looking at Dibaru—this guy's Conqueror's Haki is right on the verge of awakening, isn't it?

Perfect chance to test a hypothesis.

"Oh, this handsome young man who is on par with me, do you have any orders?" Dibaru tossed out another stiff flirtatious glance.

Sima Di was momentarily speechless......

Forget it, let's just get on with it.

"Buzz buzz buzz))——"

Conqueror's Haki surged out of his body once more, precisely compressed by Sima Di to envelop Dibaru's surroundings, instantly suppressing him down onto one knee, the force so great it even cracked through the wooden planks beneath him.

There was admittedly a bit of personal grudge mixed in.

Although the other members of the Straw Hat Pirates were confused as to why Sima Di had suddenly acted, none of them raised any objection.

He was just a slightly comedic passerby; killing him wouldn't matter at all.

But very soon they noticed something was off!

Why didn't this Dibaru...... pass out outright?

Even under the pressure of Sima Di's Conqueror's Haki, he was still struggling to resist, and with great effort raised a hand to fix his hairstyle......